SPG
Sir: I hope Andrew Brown's forthcoming book on the police is more accurate than his article ('Arming for the next riot', 19 July). The old SPG was not trained to come out of its transits and fight the world. Its members patrolled on foot and in plain clothes as a back-up to local stations. Nor was it 'centrally stationed'; it operated from four, and later six, widely separated bases.
The problems of men being confined in carriers are often caused by their own supervising officers. It has always been the Policy that officers employed on District Support Units would patrol on foot within five minutes' recall; their confinement to their carriers appears to be indicative of a general unwillingness to implement that policy.
Brian Hilliard Editor, Police Review, 14 St Cross Street, London EC1
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